Leslye Headland, the showrunner and screenwriter of Star Wars: The Acolyte, has revealed that a never-before-seen lightsaber model will debut in the series. This brings the number of unique lightsabers appearing in The Acolyte up to three, and I shouldn’t need to explain why that’s exciting.
, Headland said that The Acoylte will introduce Star Wars fans to a new variety of lightsaber that has allegedly never appeared in any other form of Star Wars media. For those who might not know, The Acoylte is set during the waning days of the High Republic, around fifty to one hundred years before the events of Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace.
Many books and comics have explored the age of the High Republic, but the era has yet to appear in live-action, so it makes sense that Headwood would want to ensure that the High Republic makes a strong impression on the audience. Whatever this new lightsaber is, it’s not the only example of The Acolyte pushing the boundaries of what a lightsaber is.
Headwood has been very outspoken about being heavily influenced by the Star Wars Expanded Universe, particularly the Star Wars tabletop role-playing game. In an, Headwood enthusiastically cited the Star Wars TTRPG, which, as her entry point to the Star Wars franchise. Anyone familiar with that game and what it inspired can recognize its influence on The Acolyte just by watching the trailers.
The Acolyte’s bringing back Legends’ deadly lightwhip
Alongside this mysterious new lightsaber, The Acoylte will make the live-action debut of the lightwhip, the flagellated lightsaber variant wielded by Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh. This unusually flexible lightsaber also debuted in the original, pre-2014 E.U., aka Legends,, a Sith Lord who played a significant role in the downfall of Han and Leia Organa-Solo’s son Jacen.
I grew up reading the original E.U. novels featuring Lumiya, so it’s hard to express how excited I am to see the lightwhip make its live-action debut. However, I’m also quite curious about this new lightsaber, a weapon that is allegedly so unorthodox that The Acolyte‘s props department initially pushed back against it. Whatever it is, it will create quite a disturbance in the Force.
The Acotlye‘s first two episodes will pre🥂miere on Disney+ on June 4 at 9:00 p.m. ES🌠T. If we’re lucky, this new lightsaber will be unveiled sooner than later.
